A Melody of Things Unrelated

Scott Richter

East Gallery | October 1 – November 6, 2021

I was asked to write a statement about the work in this show. Thinking that the two dimensional work fell into the traditional vernacular and needed no further explanation, I do have rather specific thoughts about the pieces in the center of the room. Please note that I’ve never called them sculpture! While these pieces have an undeniable sculptural quality, my intentions were not sculptural, and while I am very interested in painting, these are not paintings. They are, however, pieces about painting – the process and its material… however, avoiding the final product, which we commonly call ‘the painting’ (and its related aesthetics). The pieces start with a subject. The color is considered and mixed, but the paint never leaves the palette. Each piece therefore comments on the repetitious nature of the painting process. The color and its revisions, the paint with its surface variations, and the palette on which the paint is mixed. Ultimately, it’s the metaphor that serves the piece. The irony is that while trying hard to avoid the product, I seem to end up with one.

Richter resume